Warning: This review of Severance season 2 episode 3 will contain spoilers.

Of all of the juggled storylines in Severance, I never expected the romance between Mark S. (Adam Scott) and Helly R. (Britt Lower) to be so prominent, but season 2 episode 3 brings it closer to the center, and I can’t say I’m upset about it. It’s a fascinating subversion of the love triangle trope: Mark is torn between someone he has genuinely fallen for, and someone who he knows, but another version of himself already loves. The show has already raised a number of intriguing questions because of its unique world-building, but this finds a way to take both the characters and their circumstances in interesting, new directions.

Love, and all its implications within the world of Severance, comes front and center in “Who is Alive?” for all of the innies, often in heartbreaking ways. Let’s start with Dylan (Zach Cherry), who perhaps gets the saddest bit within the episode. Lumon has renovated the security office, where Dylan executed the overtime contingency in season 1, into a visitation room. Because of his hard work, he’s earned an 18 minute visitation with his wife, Gretchen (Merritt Weaver), where he learns about his outie’s life.

It’s a uniquely cruel way for Lumon to dangle something in front of Dylan which he’ll never get to see or experience first-hand. It’s especially cruel when he learns that his outie is kind of a screw-up, and his marriage with Gretchen isn’t as rosy as he’d like (which we see in a brief scene at their home). Her “I love you”, and Weaver’s delivery of the line, as they part ways carries with it a number of implications. At best, it’ll fill innie Dylan with the false hope that he can change his life on the outside. At worst, it’ll continue to fuel his rebellion again Lumon from the inside.

Meanwhile, Irving makes his first trek to O&D since Burt’s (Christopher Walken) retirement last season. There isn’t as much to this storyline, but Irving’s fixation on Burt continues to be incredibly sweet. But he does find an ally within the O&D department who can help him locate the mysterious dark elevator, and potentially Gemma/Miss Casey (Dichen Lachman).

By the end of episode 3, Mark is only slightly closer to locating his wife after beginning the reintegration process, but we get some more fascinating details about Lumon, and some more commentary on corporate control. Perhaps the most interesting comes from “the Board”, the voiceless entity who speaks through Natalie (Sydney Cole Alexander). We only “saw” the Board/Natalie a couple times last season, so I wonder if we’ll get to learn more about them in season 2. Notably, Natalie refers to the Board as “it” at one point in episode 3, so does this mean that it’s not comprised of a person or people? How connected are they to Kier and the larger mythology around Lumon?

Similarly, Lumon’s tentacles reach out to Devon (Jen Tullock) and Ricken’s (Michael Chernus) home. Natalie pays them a visit, apparently to adapt a version of “The You You Are” for innies. Ricken, his delusional beliefs, and his self help novel provided a great deal of humor in season 1, so I’m always down for hearing more excerpts as we do in episode 3. But, as with most things in Severance, there’s an air of menace to it, as Lumon and its loyal servants find new and twisted ways to weave its tentacles into the lives of its employees. Of course, we know that Natalie’s visit is likely only a front to get her to spy on outie Mark, but what their ultimate goal is with this strategy remains to be seen.

It’s the Board that graciously bestows the gift of the re-contextualized Kier paintings to Milchick (Tramell Tillman) in episode 3 as a reward for his promotion. They look like they’re about the same as the ones we saw previously, but Kier, and all the other human subjects, are now Black. It’s a horrifying commentary on modern workplace culture: the conglomerate willing to give a fake gloss over its history in the name of diversity, while simultaneously sending a un-personalized message to the recipient. It won’t take a Reddit sleuth to see the cracks forming on Milchick’s face as he goes from the loyal corporate soldier to someone who may finally have some of the wool removed from his eyes. How long he’ll continue to toe the company line will be one of the bigger questions as we continue to explore Severance season 2.

• You Got Your Lost in My Severance!: There was an episode in season 1 where a man tended to a baby goat, and it easily stuck out in viewers’ minds for its sheer audaciousness. Obviously, the stuff with the goats in “Who is Alive?” expands on that in weird and eye-popping ways – the department is called Mammalians Nurturable, run by Gwendoline Christie. But, for as fun as it is, I don’t know if we’ll ever get a satisfying answer as to who they are or what their purpose is. And that feels like as close to a Lost reference as we’ll ever get within this show.